


A Question of Mortality

by snoozingsnuffles



Series: 30 Day Multi-fandom Hurt/Comfort Challenge - November 2019 [12]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2021-02-16 02:47:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21500584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snoozingsnuffles/pseuds/snoozingsnuffles
Summary: Despite Hank's efforts to prevent it - Connor watches 'Marley and Me'
Relationships: Hank Anderson & Connor
Series: 30 Day Multi-fandom Hurt/Comfort Challenge - November 2019 [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1533236
Comments: 10
Kudos: 140





	A Question of Mortality

**Author's Note:**

> Warning for the discussion of animal death

Hank has been trying to hide ‘Marley and Me’ from Connor ever since he realized that the android had a weakness for dogs being the slightest bit unhappy in movies. Now, Connor wasn’t a huge crybaby, Hank would say he cried a healthy amount. Deviancy hadn’t exactly been a walk in the park for the android; he had to live with what his machine-self had done and horrific memories of how he was treated by CyberLife, but most days he handled it just fine. But as soon as a dog was hurt in fiction? He was difficult to console.

In an attempt to understand humans, Connor had been keen to watch as many movies as he could, and Hank wholeheartedly supported him. He didn’t need an excuse for a movie marathon. Connor always gravitated towards movies with dogs, which created a problem for Hank. The lieutenant didn’t want movie watching to become a stressful experience for the android – the kid hardly ever relaxed and Hank was adamant that their movie marathons be laid back and chilled. Connor could cope with just about anything – from gory slashers to heart-pounding thrillers. He had a weakness for anything involving clowns, blizzards or heights and he wasn’t particularly fond of romance, but other than that he was pretty flexible. But everything always went back to dogs.

If there was a dog on the poster, Connor was there. If a dog was mentioned in the description, it would be playing on their TV screen before Hank could even blink. This had Hank frantically searching for the dog’s fate online, and hastily interfering before Connor had the chance to get too invested in the film. It had worked so far.

But ‘Marley and Me’ was one film Hank didn’t want Connor to know about, let alone watch. The movie had even made the hard-hearted lieutenant weep like a baby when he had first watched it, he had no idea what it would do to Connor, and he didn’t want to find out. He went to great lengths to hide the movie from prying eyes – he donated his old DVD to a charity shop not long after Connor had moved in and he had blocked the movie on their TV using parental controls, something he thought he would never use again. So far, all his precautions had worked.

Hank thought had done pretty well in cutting down on his alcohol intake during the past few months, and Connor agreed with him. The android had been a big help in restricting Hank’s drink, even though he ground on Hank’s nerves to no end. He was by no means perfect, and had relapses and binges every now and again, but he was a far cry from the man he was only a year ago. Hank had decided he was finally ready to go out drinking again, under the firm eye of Jeffery and Ben, and Connor had begrudgingly agreed. The android wasn’t a big fan of bars and clubs, so he had decided to stay at home. Hank had no arguments.

Big mistake.

As soon as Hank walked through his front door that night, the sound of sniffles greeted him. His eyes landed on the TV at the back at the room and watched for a moment as long lines of credits made their way up the screen. Hank’s blood froze. He knew those credits. He would never forget those credits.

“Shit!” He exclaimed as he darted across the room towards the couch. Without even glancing at Connor, he dove towards the coffee table to where the remote lay and grabbed it, quickly shutting off the TV and plunging the room into semi-darkness.

He looked at Connor then, and his heart sank. The android’s LED was bright red and flashing like a beacon in the dark room, illuminating the tears that pooled from his eyes, one after the other. He looked as if he was desperately trying not to cry, his teeth clamped down on his lower lip so hard he had begun to draw dark blue blood and his hands were curled into tight fists on his lap. He turned to look at Hank, his eyes so wide Hank would have thought the kid had been permanently traumatized. He probably had.

Sumo was sat at the foot of the couch, a paw next to the android’s thigh. He whined, but Connor didn’t even glance at him.

“Shit, kid.” Hank sighed heavily. “’Marley and Me’? Really?”

“It l-looked like such a h-happy movie.” Connor hiccupped over his words. “And it w-was. U-until…”

“I get it, I get it.” Hank soothed as he sat down on the couch next to the trembling android. “Fuck, I never wanted you to watch that movie.”

“I-is that w-why there were parental controls?” Connor asked as he furiously wiped at his eyes.

“Yeah. I’m guessing you bypassed those, huh?”

“We’ve watched incredibly violent movies, and… t-that had a family rating. I thought perhaps it had been a m-mistake.”

“I should have warned you about it. I’m sorry.” Hank apologized. He was stupid to think that Connor wouldn’t come across it eventually, he should have just come clean and warned Connor of the ending, then the android would never watch it, or at least he would have expected it if he had decided to watch it for whatever reason. Still, it was all too late now.

Connor just shook his head. “’S not your fault.” He mumbled as he wiped at his face again. The tears still hadn’t slowed. “I’ll be fine.”

But he wasn’t. He was the furthest thing from fine. After a while, Hank decided to give the android some space and moved into the kitchen to make himself some dinner. Connor remained on the couch, but his tears didn’t slow. If anything, they were getting worse. Sumo began to paw desperately at the android’s pajama pants and his whines turned into sad little yips. Amazingly, Connor ignored him.

Something was defiantly wrong there.

“Ok.” After a while, Hank relented. He returned to the couch and beckoned Sumo towards him. “What’s up? You’re ignoring Sumo. Are you still upset about the movie?”

Hank hadn’t seen Connor so distressed, not since just after the revolution when Connor had been overwhelmed with his new-found feelings and trauma. There had been a particularly upsetting incident at the precinct involving a child who had witnessed his father’s murder and Connor had gotten pretty teary then, but he had calmed down quite quickly. This was new.

“I was just thinking.” He mumbled as he wiped at his eyes again. Hank pulled a tissue from the box and handed it to him, and Connor took it gratefully. “Dogs don’t live that long in comparison to humans and androids. And Sumo is getting old…” He didn’t finish his sentence, his words cut off by poorly suppressed sobs, but Hank knew where he was going. 

“Sumo is good for his age.” He tried to reassure. “He’s got a good few years left in him yet. Don’t worry, buddy.”

But Connor shook his head. “I’ll most likely outlive Sumo. I’ll have to watch him grow old and die.”

“That’s the pain that comes with having a dog.” Hank said, heavily. “It sucks. But we just gotta love them while they’re here, you know?”

Beside them, Sumo gave a frustrated growl as he nudged at Connor’s still hand. It took him a moment, but Connor finally began to pet the hound, and Sumo settled.

“That’s not all.” Connor mumbled. “I’ll probably outlive you, too.”

A fresh wave of tears hit him then, and he turned away. He continued to pet Sumo, though his movements were growing a little frantic and his hands were trembling violently. Hank sighed.

“Connor. You will outlive me.” He tried to let the words out gently, but Connor still flinched as if he were struck. “You’re barely a year old. I’m in my fifties. I know you’re an android and all, but if life isn’t a dick, you’re going to outlive someone fifty years older than you.” Connor still didn’t look at him, so Hank laid a hand across the androids back in a comforting gesture. “I’m sorry, kid.”

“I just keep thinking about the day S-Sumo dies, or the day you d-die. I don’t think I would handle it.” Connor dissolved into sobs, and Hank pulled him into his arms.

There was nothing he could say to comfort the android. Hank would die. Sumo would die. All living things died. Androids, if treated right, could live for centuries. Connor wasn’t going to be the only android in this situation – despite the common mistreatment of androids by humans, a lot of people had accepted androids into their lives and families with open arms, much like Hank had done. Hank’s heart ached for all of them.

Connor was trembling violently in his arms as he cried, and there was nothing Hank could do but hold him, hold him while he was still able to.

“Shhh. It’s ok.” Hank muttered. “I’ve got you.”

**Author's Note:**

> I've actually never seen Marley and Me, and I don't plan to!
> 
> Thank you for reading, please leave feedback ❤️


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